


Unknown-Ilvermorny

by OldeStone



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ilvermorny, Ilvermorny, Ilvermorny House - Horned Serpent, Ilvermorny House - Pukwudgie, Ilvermorny House - Thunderbird, Ilvermorny House - Wampus, Multi, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23808883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldeStone/pseuds/OldeStone
Summary: I wanted to write about the Wizarding World from America. I love the idea of going to Ilvermorny, so I wanted to create a relationship with the fictional place as well as build up characters from scratch. The only character created by Rowling was Agilbert Fontaine. I was also wanting to write a romantic story so here goes...Subscribe!
Relationships: Agilbert Fontaine/Original Female Character





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I am posting any of my writing to a public forum where people can read it and give feedback. I am mostly using it as a hobby to keep my mind and hands busy. Please give me comments and let me know how you take it. I will hopefully be posting at least once a week.  
> Sorry for any grammatical errors.  
> If you have suggestions for a better town name, store names (deli, sweet shop, bookstore, etc.) or Madison's last name, I'd like to see it.

You walked down the halls of Ilvermorny, on your way to the headmaster’s office. You were dreading it more and more every step you took because the headmaster was Agilbert Fontaine, someone you went to school within these very halls. It had been years since you had laid eyes on him and around the same time you had fallen out with his sister, Cris, too, who would act as a consolation prize if you got the job you so desperately wanted. They had both worked here for a few years now and you felt like you were crawling back here on your belly to beg for the newly open position.  
Mr. Oliver, the librarian, was retiring and you felt the stars aligning for you to come back to your roots and be with your friend again. At least historically Cris had been your friend. You were hoping she would understand why you had been so silent the last couple of years. She worked as a healer in the infirmary with Matilda Marsh. Both Cris and Agilbert were brilliant and the youngest people to have ever held the posts they were in here at the school. They never failed to entertain you and amaze you with how smart they each were. It made you proud, although you only ever told Cris. Bert would probably feel as if you were teasing him, which was not much of a reach for his mind since you had a tumultuous relationship. You only ever understood why he chose Thunderbird over Pukwudgie when the two of you were fighting and he was winning. It made you grateful to have his sister in Pukwudgie with you when she came to Ilvermorny a year after you and her brother. She liked to tease Bert too or laugh at your jokes. It was never fair for him, but he was a patient person.  
You sighed, deeply nervous and worried things would go south. You rounded the corner, which put his office into view and stopped to just stare at the door. Merlin, what were you doing, you thought. At that moment, the door opened, and you backed up quickly around the corner again, hoping no one saw you. You wished you could disapparate within school grounds. Footsteps were quickly approaching so you scampered away and rounded another corner, but this time you were not so sneaky.  
“Excuse me?” you heard Bert call out from behind you.  
He had spotted you and probably thought you were an intruder looking to steal a bunch of stuff while the halls were empty of students. That was an unlikely scenario though since this place was always very guarded. You closed your eyes, regretting this trip immensely and sighed again. You snapped them open when he rounded the corner and tapped you on the shoulder. You turned and looked up at him, forgetting how tall he was. He had also grown a beard, which was a lighter brown than his now-relaxed looking hair compared to earlier years. It looked effortlessly put together. Lucky bastard.  
“Jane?” he said, mildly surprised.  
He had to have known you were coming to the school today.  
“...Hi Bert,” you said awkwardly and then mentally kicked yourself.  
He hated when you called him that. He brushed this one off and you continued,  
“I had an appointment with you. That’s why I’m here.”  
But you were regretting it greatly now and would like to cancel said appointment, you thought about saying, but you gave him a strained smile instead.  
“It looks like you’re heading in the wrong direction. Going to see my sister first? I guess one of us should have warned her about your visit then.”  
“No, we can talk first. I wasn’t really planning on doing anything but getting to the appointment.”  
“Well I must have misplaced the letter to you that I sent to all the interviewees. The position has been filled.”  
Your heart dropped and felt a heap of disappointment fall on you. You thought you had been careful with your optimism, but apparently not. You nodded and hung your head in disappointment.  
“...Chin up, Jane. Let’s visit Cris. I haven’t seen her all day and she’ll be happy I brought a guest.”  
“All right,” you said, quietly.  
You were processing what he was saying to you and followed him mindlessly to the infirmary, passing the library on the way. You just kept your head down, hating being at Ilvermorny for the first time in a decade and all for nothing but embarrassment. It was hard because you had always loved this place. Your disappointment had stifled any nervousness you would have felt under normal circumstances on your way to the infirmary. You had forgotten you would have to win Cris’s favor again and your disappointment was pushed away as you and Bert reached the double doors. Bert pushed the doors back and you could instantly tell how much Cris had changed the place. She had plants growing around the edge of the room and some grew up on the walls. She had a row of cauldrons, of all sizes, bubbling with healing potions. She must already be prepping her stocks for the next school year.  
“Matilda, is that you? I hope you grabbed Skele-Gro. I can’t believe I forgot to put it on the list,” Cris called out to the opening of the doors.  
Bert cleared his throat, “Cris, it’s me and I brought you something.”  
“Agilbert, I’m busy. What is it?”  
It sounded like she was fumbling with paperwork and stepped out of the storage room to set down a pile of parchment on a desk, proving your ears right. She looked over at the two of you and her eyes widened when she saw you. You were prepared for anger, but then her face lit up and she rushed over to you.  
“Jane!” she said excitedly when she reached you and pulled you into a hug.  
Her hugs were perfection. She was as beautiful as ever. She was a little taller than you and had long auburn hair. She was your absolute favorite person. You sighed into the hug and after a moment, she pushed you back and looked you up and down like her mother would, checking you for health and happiness.  
“Why the surprise visit, Jane?”  
She sounded worried and gave you a confused look. The disappointment hit you again and your face fell.  
“Well I-”  
“She came in for an interview,” Bert interrupted and looked at you.  
“Right,” you said slowly looking back at him.  
You were not sure what he was getting at by hurrying on to the point of this awkward conversation. You would not have lied to Cris about why you were there. He was causing you grief and you were sure you did not deserve this so soon after seeing him again for the first time in years, but who knows, you must make him upset by being there.  
“Oh! To be our new librarian? Jane, that’d be great! You’re so qualified. Your years of studying in Europe, your constant reading and lectures on authors. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and I doubt anyone could be better than you for the job, right Agilbert?”  
She was selling your resume to the wrong person. You felt worse than before and looked at the ground.  
“I think you’re right, Cris. There is no one better for the job, so that’s why I didn’t bother giving her an interview. No one else has applied who is even close in comparison. If Jane wants the job, she can have it,” he said very matter-of-factly.  
You looked up at his smug face with surprise.  
“You said it was filled!” you exclaimed.  
Cris gasped and shoved Bert.  
“Agilbert, that’s so mean!” she said.  
“Welcome back, Jane,” he said, smiling at how easy it had been to get under your skin.  
“I was so disappointed, you jerk!”  
You were smiling now out of relief and realized it felt like no time had gone by between the last time you were all together and now. He was laughing now and walked to the door.  
“I’ll let you two catch up, I have other things to do. I’ll see you in August, Jane,” he called back as he left the room.  
You felt so strange about how the last five minutes that had transpired. First you were regretting being here and then you were dealing with Bert and disappointment and now Cris was excited to see you and you now had a job at Ilvermorny. You needed to sit down.  
You turned your attention back to Cris who started giggling and hugged you again.  
“I can’t wait to be here with you again,” you said into her shoulder.  
“Me either, Jane,” she said and released you.  
The two of you did catch up while Cris worked on her potions and tended to some of her plants. Cris had officially been working at the school for four years and was still enjoying every minute of it. Bert had been the one to hire her since that was his first year as headmaster. His eighth year was coming up and she said he saw no end in sight to his career there. They both loved it and talking about it made you even more excited to be there again. After a few hours, where Cris talked about her boyfriends of the last couple years and discussed cats with you, Bert came back to the infirmary.  
“And Agilbert,” she said loudly, filling the brief silence he had interrupted, “is dating someone. They’ve been together for, what, three months?”  
You looked at him as he approached the both of you. If he were embarrassed by her teasing, then he hid it well.  
“Yes, I think so,” he sighed out.  
“Well don’t you sound smitten,” you joked.  
“He’s having a hard time coming to terms with his life choices after saying “yes” to her asking him out,” Cris said.  
“She asked you. You’ve never been in that situation before. Who is it? Do I know them?”  
You looked at Cris because she snickered. Bert shot her an annoyed look.  
“You know her, Jane. It’s Amber Snow. Agilbert is dating the poor girl from your year who never left him alone.”  
You were surprised. He had always found her annoying because she had been a tagalong when the three of you just wanted to hang out without her. He was so patient and nice about it though because he did not want to hurt her feelings. Fourth year was about the time you started spending more of your days with Cris because the two of you found Amber even more obnoxious than Bert did, so you tended to avoid them when she was around because she only wanted to be with him anyway. You two were very teasing of him as well which caused the rift to begin to grow with Bert. He never could stay mad at Cris, but there were plenty of times he would get back at you or ignore you for an unspecified amount of time depending on what you would do to him. His only respite were the school breaks and spending time alone in his room or in classes without Amber in them. You all only got along when you could study together alone but those moments were rare.  
“Amber Snow?”  
“Yes,” he said annoyed and rolled his eyes, “she’s not as bad as she used to be. We reconnected over Christmas and she asked me on a date. It had been a while and I just thought, why not?”  
“Yes, he thought, why not, and agreed to go on a date with one of the most annoying people on the planet,” said Cris.  
“I know how you feel about it, Cris, leave it alone, will you? I didn’t come here to talk about my relationships.”  
“But that is one of our favorite conversations to have all together,” she teased.  
“Speak for yourself,” said Bert.  
“Well I’m glad I haven’t missed too much of it. Cris and I will talk about it without you, don’t worry, Bert.”  
You kicked yourself again. Call him Agilbert, he’s literally your boss now, you thought.  
He rolled his eyes at you.  
“You’ve still missed enough, Jane,” he said.  
“Yeah, what gives?” Cris asked.  
“Oh,” you were caught off guard, but you were relaxed enough now to be able to tell them the hard truth, “well after our last Christmas together, my grandmother started getting sick and there was nothing we could do about it so I didn’t want to worry you all or bother you with our problems. She wouldn’t let me tell you either.”  
Your voice had gone quiet. You thought you were prepared to talk about it. It had been a while since she passed away, but they knew her, and you dreaded telling anyone who knew her that she was no longer around.  
“She died a couple of Novembers ago. I grieved that Christmas and then I moved to Boston, where I met my friend Mad who is from Europe. I went with her on a few trips and I just never reached out. I always thought I was too busy, but I was just dreading this moment and dragging you both back into my sad life.”  
You tried making the conversation lighter by adding the self-deprecating joke, but no one made a noise. Cris put an arm on your shoulders.  
“I’m sorry, Jane. Your grandmother was a wonderful woman. We always enjoyed Christmases with the two of you,” said Bert.  
That was sweet of him to say. Bert had his moments where he would act like he used to when you all were younger. It made your heart flutter and you gave him a gentle smile. He returned it, then asked,  
“Drinks?”  
“Yes, please,” you said.  
Cris gave your shoulder a squeeze before letting go and went about to cleaning up her infirmary for the end of the day. Once she was ready, you all exited to the hallway. She locked the door and hooked her arms in one of yours and in one of Bert’s for you all to jointly walk out of the school. When you all had left the grounds through the gate and had started on the path to the magical town down the mountain, you gazed at the sunset sky. After some quiet moments where you walked together, you spoke,  
“How are your parents?”  
Bert and Cris shared a look. You ignored it, letting them have their silent communication and Bert spoke first,  
“Mom retired last year and spends all her time at home or running errands now. Our dad is still working at MACUSA.”  
“Does she like retirement?”  
“She was insufferable at first,” said Cris, earning a nudge from her brother to watch her words, “she wanted to spend a lot of time here, which is inappropriate, and then she seemed listless for a while when we had to keep rejecting her visits before she finally found her niche with a group of ladies she meets every week in Philadelphia.”  
“Wow,” was all you could say. Mrs. Fontaine was never such an intense person, but maybe she was post retirement.  
“Yeah, and they both still love the fact we are both so close by to the house. Not like any place is too far, but they know we are close if they forget how to apparate, I guess,” said Bert.  
“I remember when both of you announced you were going to be spending a few months in different countries for work and studying for your careers and uh- that was an awkward Christmas,” you said.  
“I don’t get it. It’s to the point where I just tell Bert where I’m going, not only because he’s my boss and my brother, but I know he won’t tell our parents and give them anxiety. And you pretty much do the same too, don’t you?” she asked him.  
He nodded.  
“It’s definitely a problem,” he added.  
After some more silence, Cris looked over at you and you looked back at her. She smirked.  
“What?” you asked.  
“Are you seeing anyone special, Jane?”  
You felt your cheeks get a little warm. You smiled after a moment though, thinking of the perfect response to her.  
“His name is Robert and he tells me every day how lucky he is to have me in his life,” you said and laughed.  
She made a ‘pfft’ sound and laughed. Even Bert smiled and chuckled.  
“He is a lucky little man... he’ll be able to spend time with me again,” he said.  
“Yeah, yeah, he will like being around a man again. He’s tired of me making him soft in his old age,” you said.  
Robert was your two decades old cat who you had brought with you to Ilvermorny and he would gladly join you there again. He acted as the fence mender several times between you and Bert. He really liked Robert. You all made it to town and went to the bar where you had fire whiskeys and butterbeers. A few drinks in, you whispered to Cris,  
“Does Amber still call him Gil?”  
She had butterbeer coming out of her nose, making a mess, but you both were laughing so hard, you barely cared. Bert exclaimed and looked confused at the two of you doubled over. You were about to quit laughing when Cris made eye contact and you burst out laughing again. Bert rolled his eyes and sipped his drink while the two of you tried recovering.  
When you both had taken enough deep breaths, she looked at Bert and said,  
“Answer Jane’s question, will you Agilbert? She wants to know if Amber still calls you Gil,” she giggled and looked at you. You were trying to drink your butterbeer but could hardly stop laughing enough to do so.  
He bit his bottom lip, annoyed and probably trying to hold back a smile. He leaned over the table and he beckoned you both in too. Once you two were in position, he said, “Yes,” through smiling, clenched teeth and gave you each a pinch on the arm. Cris burst out laughing again, you gave him a joking ‘ow’ and rubbed your arm which barely hurt, and he sat back, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in mock disappointment.  
What a great night.


	2. Chapter 2

The end of August had arrived, and you were back at Ilvermorny after a few more months of living in Boston. You parted ways with your apartment and Mad, who you would invite to visit often, and she said she would gladly accept any time she could. You were jittery, but you were even more excited to start a new career path. You were used to teaching, but you had been working at a few different primary education centers for magical community children who were expected to be going to secondary schools like Hogwarts and Ilvermorny. You were not used to this age group yet, but it would be nice to have more sophisticated conversations about more advanced reading with older students. 

You were met at the gates by Bert and a pukwudgie. You registered your wand with the gate, and they gave you access inside.   
“Hello,” you said, cheerfully. Your baggage floating in behind you through the gate.   
“Hi, Jane, good summer?” Bert asked.   
You nodded and put your arms out towards him, so he could take Robert out of your hands. He took him, gladly. 

“His was even better,” you said, referring to the cat.   
“Oh yeah? Why is that?”   
“He got a change in his food and now all he eats are cans of money.”   
Bert chuckled and looked at the cat.   
“He only deserves the best and if it is money, then that is what he will get.”   
You smiled at the pair and then looked at the pukwudgie, now patiently waiting by the front of the school with your bags.   
“Let’s go Berts. Our friend is waiting.”   
“Did you hear what she just called us?” he asked the cat. Robert just purred.   
You went inside with the three of them and followed the pukwudgie to where you would be living. He took you back through the route you had taken a couple of months ago when you were going to Bert’s office. He stopped short though at the apartment across from Bert’s down the length of the hall.   
“Isn’t this supposed to be the deputy headmaster’s apartment?” you asked.   
“Yes, Ms. Steele never wanted to move her stuff over to live in it, so Mr. Oliver lived there until he left in May. No one else really showed interest after that so you got dibs without even trying,” said Bert.   
“Well that’s lucky of me.”   
The pukwudgie gave you a key and unlocked it with his own. You stepped in and instantly fell in love with the space. There were large windows and two couches were facing the big fireplace which had tall bookshelves on either side of it, ready to be filled. You had a wooden table with a couple matching chairs by it that were near the kitchen area. It was not the type of kitchen one would cook in, but you could store snacks and there was also a spot for you to make tea. You nodded at the digs, assuming the bedroom and bathroom were just as accommodating. Bert followed you in and set Robert on the nearest couch.   
“Do you like it then?”   
“Of course. This will be perfect for me and I’m sure Robert can adapt. He’s used to luxury, so he’ll have to give up some of the finer things he was accustomed to, but he can manage,” you mentioned sarcastically.   
“Mmhm.”   
You smiled and thanked the pukwudgie for his help before he left. When your door closed, Bert said,   
“He will help you with whatever you want, by the way. Every faculty member has a pukwudgie who assists them like it has always been.”   
You nodded and said, “Okay.”   
There was a moment of quiet between the two of you while you looked around some more and then you sighed.   
“Time to unpack.”   
“All right. I’ll go, I have a few things to take care of today. Let me know if you need anything... or ask the pukwudgie. I think Cris said she will come and see you when she’s finished for the day, so expect company later,” he said and opened your door.   
“Yes, sir,” you said, half-joking as he left. He just gave you an eye roll and closed the door behind him.   
You got to work on unpacking.   
Cris did come by and she indulged your mind well into the night. You were glad to have good company while you sorted out all your things and nested. You brought up the times when you were students and school was starting again. Cris stayed with her year in one room and you were in another with the girls of your age. After becoming such close friends, she never wanted to go into a separate room so one of the girls in your age group switched with her when you were in your fifth year and Cris was a fourth year. It was fabulous being together every evening. She had become your favorite person at that early age, and it helped you to never look back. Now to convince her to help you sort out the library over the next couple of days before school officially began.


	3. Chapter 3

The first day the students were at the school, everyone was bustling around moving their things in and saying hello to their friends. You became a wallflower that afternoon, watching kids run by, excitedly preparing for the evening. Cris found you couple hours into the fiasco up against the wall of a main hallway trying to keep kids from running or giving guidance to first years and prefects. 

“Hello, Jane,” she said. 

“Hey, busy day, huh? I don’t remember it being this chaotic.” 

“I love this time of year. The buzz is palpable.” 

“Are we wearing our robes for the events tonight?” 

“Of course! ...I love wearing the hat,” she said with a dreamy look on her face. 

“Me too,” you said, giggling at her and your own excitement. 

“We could get ready together if you want.” 

“That sounds nice, sure.” 

“Okay, I’ll go get my things.” 

“I’ll meet you in my room.” 

It was just like old times when you would prepare yourselves for big nights like tonight. The dances, the parties, the sorting, it all had the same effect on your countenance and those nights required special attention so they could have the opportunity to go well. Cris walked away towards her room, scolding running children on the way, saying she did not want to have to work in the hospital all night if they broke a piece of themselves. You laughed to yourself at her comments. 

After a while longer, you went to your own room. The halls had quieted for the most part and you were sure all the heads of the houses were corralling the students in their dorms to go over rules and then to charge them with getting ready for the night. First years mingled in a large courtyard laughing with each other, probably full of nerves about the sorting in a short while. 

You rounded the corner where your apartment was and saw Bert as he was just exiting his office. He was already dressed for the night in a charcoal suit and a cloak draped behind him from his neck to his calves. He looked devilishly handsome. 

“Hello, Jane.” 

“Bert.” 

You passed him and went to open your door when he asked, 

“Are you taking part tonight? It’ll be your first opportunity as a faculty member. Pretty exciting, right?” 

“Yeah, I have a hat and everything. You’ve seen a witch’s hat before, Bert. You remember, the pointed top?” you said smiling and leaned back against your door. 

“Oh, ha ha...” receiving a genuine smile from him, “I’ll see you later.” 

“See you.” 

You ducked into your apartment. As soon as Cris arrived, you both dressed in your black gowns and put your witch’s hats on. Then you laced up your booties and made sure your hair was just right with the hat on. Cris looked adorable, the skirt of her dress was a burgundy which you figured was to match school colors and her red hair was firey. 

The sun was getting low and it was time to go to the sorting foyer. This was a great day of the year. The incumbents received their wands again and the first years were sectioned off into their houses. The students were gathering in the foyer already by the time you and Cris arrived. The golden sun was shining extraordinarily through the windows and the stained glass danced, the images resembling a sunny day. Ms. Steele was waiting patiently for the rest of the school to arrive. She had her hat on, and a robe draped over her shoulders. 

There were definitely still witches in Massachusetts. 

You lined up with Cris by the Pukwudgie statue and chatted as the rest of the students and faculty arrived. You were in the middle of your conversation about the turquoise mushrooms growing in the greenhouse when a hush fell over the room starting with the rafters above where the overflows of students were standing. The both of you turned your heads to see Bert walking in, his cloak flowing gently behind him as he approached Ms. Steele. 

You smiled to yourself. You were happy to see how involved everyone was in this tradition. He muttered something to Ms. Steele and then stood by the Thunderbirds and their house’s statue. He scanned the room and paused on you. You gave him a little smile and he winked. You felt your heart flutter and your hand went to hold onto Cris’s sleeve for a moment. Cris looked at you with concern. 

“What’s wrong? Your face looks like it’s getting hot,” she whispered, worried. 

You waved your hand, dismissively. 

“I’m fine, I just realized I have some more work to do before tomorrow,” you whispered back, lying. . 

“Okay, well relax, Jane. You have plenty of time, I can help you.” 

You nodded and Cris returned her attention to Ms. Steele. You looked at your shoes, worried that if you looked up, you would go down a trail you were unprepared to take and in no position to think about. You cleared your mind, quickly and examined the students around you. 

Ms. Steele spoke for a moment about the school year and then went directly into calling out the names of new students. On and on, she announced the names and the statues moved around. There were cheers here and there when some of them chose, but most of the time was spent in quiet watchfulness by the room. 

When the last student had been called, Ms Steele said, 

“Time for dinner now. Sit with your house and then after the feast, we will return wands!” 

Students began talking amongst each other and filing out of the room along with faculty. You hung back with Cris, not wanting to get in any hungry child’s way. Bert came to stand beside the both of you and looked at your outfits, so naturally you both broke into poses. 

“You both look very pretty,” he said, feeding your egos. 

“Why, thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself,” you said. 

“I’m going to go get my No-maj camera so mom and dad can see how fantastic we all look,” said Cris, giggling and leaving you both there to just stare after her and laugh along. 

“She never stops moving,” said Bert. 

You nodded and hummed a laugh. Bert put a hand on your back and said, 

“Let’s go, I can’t leave you behind.” 

“I don’t plan on being left behind, I’m hungry,” you said, smiling as you started walking together. His hand dropped and you braved a look at him. He had trimmed his beard. 

The dining hall was decorated with navy blues and burgundies throughout making it very spirited for the evening. The students were seating themselves as you clicked past with Bert next to you. 

You parted ways at the faculty table and seated yourself next to the Mr. Fugett who taught Herbology. Cris seated herself next to you shortly after, donning her camera. 

“I’m starving,” she sighed as she made herself comfortable. 

A moment later, her brother addressed the room. 

“Welcome, welcome! To another school year here at Ilvermorny and if it is your first year, we are glad to have you. I have a couple announcements I’d like to make. First, our changes in faculty… as many of you know Mr. Oliver has retired so Ms. Hart here will be taking over,” he put out a hand in your direction and Cris nudged you to do something. You waved gently at the crowd of children clapping and felt heat creep to your cheeks. 

Bert continued, 

“We also have a new Quidditch coach and flying instructor, Mr. Finnigan,” and the room clapped again as Mr. Finnigan stood and waved. 

“Second, and last, I would like to make it clear that all students will be participating in this year’s festivities as we all have before. If you require something to look forward to then remember there are always holidays to be celebrated and maybe, if you all do well in your classes, some unexpected ones,” this was met with some chattering at the tables below. 

“That’s enough from me now, let’s eat,” he said and clapped twice. The food appeared instantly, and it all looked delicious. It had been so long since you had an Ilvermorny feast and you wanted to taste every bit of it. 

You had great conversation with Mr. Fugett about Herbology and Cris threw in her wonders about the green mushrooms. They then talked across you for longer than you could have imagined. A few times you almost laughed to yourself about how intrigued they both were about the slightest things in the greenhouses. You would have liked to talk about those happenings too but figured they were much too involved to care about what you thought. You simply smiled to yourself and waited for dessert. 

When it was time to go back to dormitories, you followed to Pukwudgie house out and accompanied them to the place you use to live. Cris had called after you about the picture but you were insistent on watching the children get their wands. Later, you had told her but really you did not care if you were in a picture or not. Besides, it was for their parents, they would much rather receive one simply with their offspring in it. 

The Pukwudgie dorm was decorated in more reds than blues still and the fire was going, making the room’s shadows dance. When the group of students had crowded into the common room, Ms. Steele, who was also the head of the Pukwudgie house as well as deputy headmistress, welcomed everyone again to this portion of the evening. The oldest went first and when it came down to first years only, the true ceremony began. Each new student stepped forward and the wand cabinet would expel a cloud of smoke as the wands would appear and reveal which maker they came from. Every wand was different and inspired each of their masters in a different way. 

Once it was all taken care of, you exited along with a few other Pukwudgie staff members as Ms. Steele remained behind to close out the evening and amp up the students for the first day of classes. 

You made your way to your apartment, hoping to relax with Robert for a while and read a book before turning in for the night. You were anxious about the first day yourself and decided that maybe stopping at the library first would be a good idea. 

You unlocked the double doors when you had reached them and pushed them open to reveal one of your favorite places. The books and shelves had been dusted and repairs on a few had been made. Some were novels written by No-majs and many more were written by witches and wizards. Other species had contributed as well, like goblins, pukwudgies, centaurs. The whole place was filled with history and knowledge quite unmatched by any other library in North America. You were proud to be in charge. 

You stood behind the circulation desk, organizing little items here and there, calming your nerves. 

There was a knock on the open doors, and you looked up. You smiled. 

“You always find me,” you said. 

“It’s easy work. You have a demanding presence,” said Bert. 

“Do I really?” 

“Cris is the same way. Both of you have powerful energies.” 

“Oh, well I’m not as finetuned as you are in energy readings, so I can’t pretend to know what you mean.” 

“It’s almost like a magnet.” 

He was approaching the circulation desk now, keeping his eyes on you. 

“Do you think other people feel that way?” 

“...I’m sure of it. It would explain a lot. Don’t you think?” 

“Should I hide it?” 

He leaned against the desk and gave you a serious, thoughtful look. He knew exactly what subject you were vaguely touching on. 

“You should when you leave the grounds. It’s safer for our kind. Even some No-majs can read it well.” 

“That’s true. I’ll keep it in mind... thanks.” 

“Any time, Jane.” 

He gave you a friendly smile and you returned it before looking down at the parts of the desk you had not touched yet and felt a little overwhelmed again. 

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” he asked. 

“For the most part. I plan on tweaking the system of book distribution, but I sort of need to test it out first so the next couple of days might be hectic,” you explained. 

He nodded and stood upright again. 

“Well, Cris still wants a picture of the three of us for our parents. What do you say we go find her?” 

You nodded, wanting to leave some of your worries behind for the rest of the night. 

“Let’s go.” 

You left the library together, locking it up as you went and searched for the healer. 

____ 

The next few weeks of school were a bit stressful for you. You were creating the new system of book checks and taking suggestions for lecturers to come on weekends. You had one person on your list so far: Mad. You giggled every time you saw near-empty list and then sighed. You did not want to be the only person suggesting who visits, but you could fill it easily if you were being exclusive. You were getting to know all the students and soon enough they may feel comfortable enough to ask who they would like to come speak.


End file.
